Apparatus for automatic gas analysis.



4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

H. J. WESTOVER.

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC GAS ANALYSIS.

I APPLICATION FILED JULY 16I 1909.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

3 u 2 L w T ...l.ll:.lll

u T T r .EE

Pg 1 $9.0 M14121 V INVENTOI? ATTORNEY H. J. WESTOVER. APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC GAS ANALYSIS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 16, 1909.

1,1 1 1,81 5. Patented Se t; 29, 1914;

4 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

if E? 28 wmvsssss INVENTOR 7 d By ATTORNEY H. J. WBSTOVER.

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC GAS ANALYSIS.

M 9% A 1.5 y OW R 2 m M h N M w m B N SH I d 4 V m 0/ on 8 t a P on. 0 9 1 6 1 Y L U J D E L I r N o I T A 0 I L P P A u 5 m 8 M 4 SHEETSSHBET 4 INVENTOR mafih in DIME) I Pa t'ented Sept. 29, 1914.

H. J. WESTOVER. IPPARATUS FOB AUTOMATIC GAS ANALYSIS.

I APPLICATION FILED JULY 16, 1.909.

W/TNE88ES:

header 4 by a HENRY J. WESTOVER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC GAS ANALYSIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

Application filed July 16, 1909. Serial No. 508,081.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. Wrisrovnn, a citizen of the United States,residing 1n the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Automatic Gas Analysis, of which the following is a speclfication.

This invention has relation to a mechanical means whereby any person, without any technical knowledge can in a very short time make a correct analysis of compound gases, and is particularly intended for the determination of carbon dioxid percentages in the products of combustion in furnaces.

The invention is shown in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a front view of the machine showing the pump diaphragm depressed; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the plane 2-2 in Fig. 5, showing the pump diaphragm raised; Fig. 3 is'a'plan view of the machine below the plane 3-3 in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view below the line H in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a plan view below the plane'5-5 in Fig.

\ ment of the shaft 1 causes the liquid in the 6, and Fig. 6 is a partial side elevation Sl1OW' ing the levers controlling the gas passages, with the gas storage vessel omitted.

The various parts are operated in the proper order by a shaft, 1, which may be'operated by hand, as by the crank shown, by motor or otherwise.

The furnace gases to be analyzed are drawn from the furnace or other prime source, by any well known method, into a storing vessel 2 shown in Fig. 1, within its appropriate compartment. This vessel is connected by a flexible tube 2 to the pipe 3. The filling of the storage vessel is accomplished away from the apparatus, and after this vessel has been charged in any well known way, it is brought to the machine and placed in the appropriate compartment as shown. I

The pipe 3 is connected to a distributing short flexible tube 5, and the header is further connected by the tube 8 to the measuring chamber 9. Flexible tubes, serving as parts of a valve system and shown at 6 and 7 connect the header withother parts of the machine as hereinafter described. The passage of gas through the pipe 5 into the header 4 is regulated by the lever 11 which is shown in Fig. 6 with its corresponding rear end in a raised' position, thus allowing free passage of gas through this flexible tube, as the vessel 2 sinks in the Water.

As soontas the gas from the vessel 2 has filled the measuring chamber 9 and a surplus has escaped through the central tube 10 to the atmosphere, the continued movemachine to rise by the action of the cam 14 raising the lever 15, thus raising the flexible dlaphragm 16 of the pump 17, and sealing the proper volume of gas at atmospheric pressure within the measuring vessel 9.

Connected with the shaft 1 is another shaft 18 geared so as to turn once for every two turns of the driving shaft. This shaft 18 is fitted with three cams, 19, 20, 21, which at the proper times lift singly the levers 24, 23, 22 respectively. The ends of these levers are connected by upward rods to the levers 11, 12 and 13, so that as each lever is raised, one end of the corresponding lever at the top ofthe apparatus is lifted, against the action of the spiral spring above it. This frees the flexible tube sectionwhich is normally pinched by the opposite end of each lever 11, 12, 13, and permits gas to pass through it. One only of these three levers is raised at any one time, and thus two of the flexible tubes are always closed.

Assuming the position shown in Fig. 1, when a new sample of gas has just been drawn into the measuring vessel by the descent of the diaphragm 16, further revolution of the shaft 1 causes the diaphragm to rise, thus forcing the liquid upward within the chamber 9 and just before access to the atmosphere through the tube 10 is closed by the rising liquid the cam shaft 18 turns sulficiently to bring the lever 21 and lever 11 into their normal positions. This permits the lever 11 to press upon thetube 5, closing the aperture through it, and shutting off the gas. Immediately the cam 20 comes into position to raise the lever 23, and in turn, as before described, the lever 12; allowing the tube 6 to assume its natural shape, a passage is provided from the measuring chamber 9 to the reagent chamber 25. In this chamber the gas to be determined is absorbed by the reagent after the liquid .has been raised by the diaphragm 16 to the neck 8 of the measuring chamber, as shown in Fig. 2.

On the reversal of the cam 14, the liquid descends and when the liquids reach the liquid falls below same plane or level in the tube 10 and measuring chamber 9, the percentage of the volume absorbed may be read on the graduated scale marked on the outside of the chamber 9, (see Fig. l). The further movement of the cam causes the diaphragm to fall to its lowest position, and, from the time the the opening of the tube 10, the lever 23 is released and the lever 22 is raised. The lever 22 operates the lever 13, providing a passage to the vessel 29 through the flexible tube! and pipe 7 in the same manner as with the others, on the return upward movement of the diaphragm 16. The residual gases left over in the measuring chamber 9 are then driven out through the liquid seal in the vessel 29.

The depth of the liquid seal in the vessel 29 is calculated with reference to the pressure necessary to displace thereagent solution in the absorption vessel 25. That is to say, the seal in the vessel 29 should be of such a depth as to release the gases being forced through it at the moment when the pressure of these gases, created by the expulsive efiort, equals the fpressure necessary to displace the reagent uid from the absorption vessel.

The vessel 25 is partially filled with a sponge-like material, such as steel sponge, to increase the wet surface in contact with the gas and hasten its absorption. This vessel, whichhas the shape of aninverted funnel, is open at the bottom and has its rim notched. It is placed inside of the vessel 28 through the top of which is carried the pipe which communicates with the pipe 6. The vessel 28 is in turn inserted into the vessel 31 wherein it is sealed with a material appropriate to the reagent used. The top of the vessel 28 is furnished with a few small ,holes so that the liquids can be at atmospheric pressure when all the gas has been forced out of the absorbing vessel 25.

The capacity and construction of the vessel 28 is such as to permit the machine to lie at'any angle not more than 90 degrees to its upright and normal position without spilling any of the reagent contained in the vessel. A

The drawings show thearrangement for one absorbing vessel only, but several may be used in connection with one measuring chamber, taking the residual gases left over in the measuring chamber to another absorbing chamber filled with a different reagent and returning it to the measuring chamber as above described. The percentage in each succeeding analysis will be the difference when the total of the preceding analysis has been deducted. For this purpose it is only necessary to have extra cams for the lever 12 corresponding to extra vessels for 65 the reagents necessary 'for the additional of the reagent in 28 when all analysis, and to provide the cam 14 with one additional throw for each extra analy- SIS.

The absorption vessel 25 and the outside vessel 28 are filled to a predetermined height with the reagent. The action of the "as when forced from the measuring chamber 9 to the absorption chamber 25 is to raise the level of the liquid in the vessel 28 above the level of the liquid in the vessel 25. By this construction two decided advantages are obtained, viz.: First, the height of the liquid above the dome shaped vessel 25 ra idly drives out the gas which at practically no pressure (Were the outside level practically the same as 25) would adhere for some time in the interstices of the sponge like material used to obtain the maximum wet surface. Sufficient height is obtained to obtain this result of driving out the gas. Second, in returning the residual gases after absorption to the measuring chamber, the levels in the chambers 25 and 28 should be the same. This requires time, and, as it is my objects to get an accurate analysis with the least amount of time, and therefore without waiting for the two levels to exactly balance, this invention provides a margin in the difference of levels without appreciably affecting the accuracy of the results. For example, should the level of liquid in the tube 32 be a quarter of an inch below the level the gas has been returned to the vessel 9, as the area of the vessel 9 at that part where the reading is taken is 150 times as great as the cross section of the bore of the tube 32, this difference of a quarter of an inch in the levels would only affect the reading by one hundredth of one per cent., which is of course, negligible.

It is also claimed for this apparatus that moisture in the gases to be analyzed, the increase in the bulk of the reagent due to absorption of a portion of the gas, or a change of temperature, or the strength of the reagent will not vary the results, as the volume of the gas to-be measured is not affected by the volume of the reagent.

In the use of apparatus where glass cocks are used, these are ver liable to stick on account of the action ov caustic-potash, one of the reagents used. In the present apparatus this difficulty is avoided, since no cocks are used.

In prior forms of hand apparatus, attention and time must be given to manipulate the valves, and the pressure, so as to obtain a correct result. This apparatus takes care of all these points automatically and enables anyone to obtain correct results in less time than an expert can with the older forms of apparatus.

What I claim is:

1. In an automatic gas analyzer, a meas- 2. In an automatic gas analyzer, a measuring chamber, an absorption chamber, a driving shaft, a pump driven thereby, a cam shaft also driven thereby, flexible tubes for passage of gas to and from said chamber, and means for pinching or releasing said tubes operated by said cam shaft, substantially as described.

3. In an automatic gas analyzer, a measuring chamber, an absorption chamber, flexible gas tubes, pipes connected therewith leading'to and from said chambers, a cam shaft, and means for pinching and releasing said tubesin properorder operated by said cam shaft, substantially as described.

4:. In an automatic gas analyzer, a measuring chamber, an absorption chamber, three flexible tubes for respectively leading gas to said measuring chamber, one of said chambers to the other, and discharging gas to the atmosphere; in combina- 'tion with levers normally arranged to pinch said tubes individually, a shaft having three cams, and levers on said cams mechanically connected to said first named levers, substantially as described.

5. In an automatic gas analyzer, and in combination with a closed gas storage ves-' sel, a measuring chamber, an absorption chamber, a pipe having a flexible section leading from said measuring chamber to said storage vessel, a similar pipe leading from said measuring chamber to said absorption chamber, levers for pressing upon or releasing said flexible pipe sections, a revoluble shaft and cams thereon for operating said levers, substantially as described.

6. In an automatic gas analyzer, and in combination with a closed gas storage vessel, a measuring chamber, an absorption chamber, a pipe'having a flexib c section leading gas from leading from said measuring chamber to said storage vessel, a similar pipe leading from said measuring chamber to said absorption chamber, levers for pressing upon or releasing said flexible pipe sections, a revoluble shaft and cams thereon, levers hearing on said cams, and rods connecting said last named levers with corresponding firstnamed levers, substantially as described.

7. In a gas analyzer and in combination with a measuring chamber, an absorption chamber, a storing vessel and suitable tubes connecting said measuring chamber with said absorption chamber and with said storing vessel; a pump, a revoluble shaft arranged to operate said pump, a second revoluble shaft geared with the first named shaft, and means controlled by said second shaft to operate said valves in appropriate order, substantially as described.

8. In an automatic as analyzer and in combination, a measuring chamber, a gas storage vessel, an absorption chamber, a discharging chamber, a header communicating on one side with said measuring chamber and having on its other side openings connected by valved pipes with said storage vessel, said absorption chamber and said discharging chamber respectively; and means for controlling operation of said valves in appropriate sequence, substantially as described.

9. In an automatic gas analyzer, and in combination, a measuring chamber, an absorption chamber, a pipe and valve between them, a discharging chamber containing a deep liquid seal, a pipe and valve between said discharging chamber and said measuring chamber, a revoluble shaft, and means controlled by said shaft for operating said valves in succession, substantially as described.

10. In combination with the measuring chamber of a gas analyzing apparatus, an absorption chamber comprising an external vessel, an internal vessel of less height communicating with the external vessel by openings at its bottom, and absorptive material Within said internal vessel and suitable connections between said absorption chamber and saidmeasuring chamber, substantially as described.

HENRY J. WESTOVER.

Witnesses:

H. S. MACKAYE, M. A. Burma. 

